Modern Slavery Statement

Origin UK Operations Limited (trading as PB Kent) is committed to conducting itself with the highest ethical and legal standards. We ensure that the operations within the business and its supply chain meet those standards at all times and are compliant with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

We are aware that Human traffickers and illegal/unlicensed gang-masters target a range of industries including those involved in the agricultural sector. Government sources report that in 2013, 10% of potential forced labour victims referred to services came from the agriculture sector (Source:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-slavery-industry-factsheets). For this reason we remain particularly vigilant within our supply chain and within our network of other partnerships.

Our Principles

• PB Kent complies with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and will not accept non-compliance to the act within it’s operations or those of partners or suppliers.

• PB Kent is prepared to terminate the relationship with any supplier or partner that does not comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Our Business

As a leading manufacturer and distributor of fertilisers to agriculture and amenity throughout Great Britain, we produce a comprehensive range of NPKS, prescription blends, straights and micro-nutrients. In addition to ‘standard’ fertilisers, the company is committed to developing innovative and technologically enhanced crop nutrition products and services with the objectives of improving crop yields, crop quality and farmer returns. PB Kent is trading name of Origin UK Operations Limited.

Our supply chain is global in its reach and we source from manufacturers directly or through intermediaries. Many of our suppliers are large in scale with deemed low-risk of non-compliance to the Modern Slavery Act, however, as a Company we remain vigilant to all risks, particularly in small-scale businesses in whose sector there may sometimes be a higher risk of unlicensed manual labour. Our employees remain vigilant to this risk and through the Whistleblowing hotline are able to raise their concerns confidentially and anonymously if they choose to do so.

Company Procedures

This statement is published on our main websites and is issued to our suppliers in order to reiterate that the Company will not tolerate non-compliance to the above legislation. We issue a questionnaire to new and existing suppliers which seeks to identify any challenges and non-compliance risks which may need further investigation. We also ask suppliers to submit their public domain Modern Slavery statement to PB Kent, as part of our procurement and tendering process.

We actively ask our staff to “Whistle-blow” on any risks that they identify within the course of their work in relation to this issue. A copy of relevant documentation is issued to new starters upon their joining of the Company to ensure awareness of the Modern Slavery Act, the actions we are taking as a Company and how to escalate any concerns. Every 3 months, an internal team will meet to discuss and review risks identified within completed supplier questionnaires, non-completion of questionnaires by suppliers and any information from employees that has been raised to us directly or anonymously though the Whistleblowing hotline. We will review this statement every 3 months as part of our internal meeting schedule as well as reviewing training needs and new-starter materials.

Origin UK Operations Limited is committed to ensuring our supply chain is free from human rights abuses. We actively welcome comments and suggestions from anyone within our supply chain about how we can improve our operations or further ensure we all work to create a fully risk-free supply chain. If you have any questions regarding this issue please contact us by emailing us on: info@originukoperations.co.uk